Messages

401

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 21, 2015, 09:08 PM »

I'm coming to realise that there's wireless, and then there's wireless (see the difference there?). 

...the trick is to make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. Past that point, you actually make things more complex.

-Vurbal (January 21, 2015, 08:25 AM)

and therein lies the trap. 

Simple is good, but it assumes that everyone has a certain level of knowledge/skill, and that they already have all the dependencies covered off so there is no attempt to define anything. 

Ad hoc networking is not a solution so much as a kludge. Like any "good" kludge, there's a steep decline in usefulness and useability outside of the specific problem it was designed to address. In this case that means quick and dirty one off connections between wireless devices. What we're really talking about is using the printer's ad hoc capabilities to do the job of a WAP and router.

I'll show my ignorance here and ask what's probably a stupid question.

If I can create an adhoc wired 'network' so easily, then why is a wireless solution so much different.  The comm's should be the same, so we're only talking about the means of transmission (is landline v mobile telephony is an appropriate analogy?)

402

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 20, 2015, 09:28 PM »

Makes for an Interesting wrinkle, once a 2nd (inactive) gateway gets introduced (IT hits the fan). Because it will either need a gateway-less static IP scheme, or a really low priority for the wireless adapters gateway to be sure they can get out to the web. Both of which either of us could probably do blindfolded...but neither is a great time for a novice. Not to mention if it ever required them to do any troubleshooting ... Zoiks!

-Stoic Joker (January 20, 2015, 06:04 PM)

actually not that hard as the tether doesn't need to be shared - we obviously only connect when we need it and the connection is direct to the PC in question, so not part of 'a network' at all

403

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 20, 2015, 03:42 PM »

ur mobiles
I have to ask, how are the computers currently accessing the internet??

-Stoic Joker (January 20, 2015, 12:02 PM)

by tethering our mobiles

FWIW I'm not averse to having a network per se, I just don't need any sort of network connectivity for anything other than the printer.  Plus it irritates me to have to buy another wireless device so I can connect it to my wireless device

And given that that functionality is explicitly available in all the existing devices it seems reasonable to expect that it would actually. well, function.  It's not like wifi is new or bleeding edge, quite the opposite in fact (I know this is a generalisation and that there are a lot of factors to consider)

404

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 19, 2015, 06:26 PM »

As incentives go, this is a pretty good one ... Because printer controlled wireless networks as a rule tend to be roughly half as stable as a acrophobic on an electrified tightrope.

One of the main questions that should also be asked, is does the printer itself really need to be wireless? According to the specs the device has an RJ45 Ethernet port, so get a cheap wireless router, wire the thing to it, and you should be ok. The router will handle the IP scheme, and you won't be left twisting in the wind hoping that some flakey "Cutting Edge" technology will decide to be kind enough to actually work on any given day.

-Stoic Joker (January 19, 2015, 11:51 AM)

As you've already pointed out the printer doesn't need to be wireless, but there's there's a counterpoint to that in that we don't actually need a network, we only need to be able to connect to the printer.

That said I have been wondering about buying a wireless router so there would at least be some form of network - anyone want to make a recommendation?  Ideally any candidates should be able to act as a wireless access point (ie I want to able to use a wireless dongle with it) 

Start by disabling any and all sleep functions first. Then if it starts behaving you can look into how best to allow the thing to take a light nap

good tip, but I need to get it to connect in the first place before this should be a factor

405

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 18, 2015, 10:48 PM »

Using any brand printing via wifi has always been similar to that for me, remove, re-discover and re-add printer

-rgdot (January 18, 2015, 10:39 PM)

yeah, and try telling that to the kids of today...

progress, meh...

406

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 18, 2015, 10:07 PM »

yes, many(!) times...

wirelessly they printer doesn't seem to be visible to the setup program, though it does come up in the network list and I can 'connect' to it manually when it does

I'm thinking I'll have to remove it all (or as much as possible) and start again (yeah yeah, I know I should have done this already )

407

Living Room / Re: wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 18, 2015, 09:27 PM »

samsung M2835DW...

destructions say it uses 'wifi direct' which I gather is specific (peculiar?) to intel chipsets, though that shouldn't be an impediment to 'normal' operation

408

Living Room / wireless networking and wifi printer help

« on: January 18, 2015, 09:12 PM »

I recently bought a wifi laser printer under the apparently mistaken idea that it would simplify things at home and be cheaper to run

After some weeks of tinkering and testing I still can't can't consistently create a wireless connection to the damn thing, let alone a persistent one.

Let me state up front that I don't have a home network - we don't have access to landline based broadband, and there's no other reason to network the 2 PC's in our house. 

On my Win7 box

  - I've used the supplied software and followed the installation instructions to the letter
  - I've created a network connection (on the assumption that I needed some sort of network for the printer to see)
  - I've used the supplied software and followed the installation instructions to the letter
  - I've set static IP addresses
  - I've used the supplied software and followed the installation instructions to the letter 
  - I've disabled the existing (Atheros) wifi adapter and purchased another (EDIMAX)
  - I've used the supplied software and followed the installation instructions to the letter

I'm at the stage where it's getting beyond a joke so I'm hoping someone here can supply an AHA! comment

409

Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: Convert sequence of images to video (with ffmpeg?)

« on: January 12, 2015, 11:55 PM »

not video, but I've used Wink for similar things in the past...

410

Living Room / Re: which phone?

« on: December 11, 2014, 09:25 PM »

In case you do get a Lumia, you would better go for the 835 than the 830.

-Shades (December 11, 2014, 06:19 AM)

the 835 isn't available here (Oz), but while the 830 specs are generally acknowledged as being a little behind the current 'standards' they appear to be more than adequate

re the G3, I'd be interested in some sensible feedback on battery life (I very much like the look of this handset).  Most reviewers seem to think that 1 day is acceptable (personally I think that's pathetic, but what do I know) .  FWIW I generally wind everything back as far as I can to stretch the battery as far as possible

411

Living Room / Re: which phone?

« on: December 10, 2014, 10:12 PM »

thanks to all who have responded - I now realise I made a mistake in asking the way i did (it has the potential to degenerate into another 'fanboy discussion').  I wouldn't expect that to happen here but it wouldn't be the first time.

My struggle with the windows phone was that your brain wants to treat it like windows, the windows we love which is full of options and possibilities and third party tools, etc.  But the windows phone is none of those things.  it's even more restrictive than iOS, without the apps.  So it's essentially the most restricted device imaginable.  I stopped using it when the nexus 5 came out.

-superboyac (December 10, 2014, 05:57 PM)

This seems to encapsulate the replies so far, but it's ultimately fairly inconclusive.

Reading between the lines here it seems that the user experience on WP is generally excellent.  The dissatisfaction (?) seems to centre around a lack (?) of customising options, and the fact that some (many?) of the applications available under other platforms aren't available under WP (is that a reasonable expectation?).

That said, WP seems to offer some options that the others don't?

FWIW the 2 handsets I'm considering are the LG G3 and the Lumia 830.  I don't have any particular dependency or affinity with android, nor do I have anything of importance that I might lose (that I know of ).  I'm not terribly interested in customising nor do I have any particular expectations of the hardware, so long as it works well and is reliable.  

In the end this may come down to the toss of a coin

412

Living Room / which phone?

« on: December 09, 2014, 07:21 PM »

It's come around time for me to refresh my existing (android) mobile handset and I'm tossing up whether or not to dabble with a windows phone

I've read lots of reviews and I'm really no closer to a decision so I'm canvassing for some 'real world' advice

Anyone here had a foot in both the windows and android camps care to chip in?

413

Living Room / Re: Decibels, loudness, amplifiers, formulas...complete confusion!

« on: December 09, 2014, 05:18 PM »

never mind the quality, feel the width!!

414

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi project: wireless file server

« on: December 04, 2014, 07:07 PM »

Hmm...check out this thing from Sony...looks just right, a wireless portable storage device!
http://www.sony-asia.com/product/wg-c20 (see attachment in previous post)

-superboyac (December 04, 2014, 12:10 PM)

actually that's just a server, you still have to add some storage...

Seagate have a wifi HDD.   and Reviewed here (kind of )

415

General Software Discussion / Re: Tips for dial-up Internet Speeds?

« on: December 03, 2014, 07:33 PM »

416

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi project: wireless file server

« on: December 03, 2014, 06:08 PM »

wireless portable HDD's are already starting to appear

not vouching for the content at all but this might be a starter for you top 5 wireless portable hdd's

417

General Software Discussion / Re: pdf to doc text converter?

« on: December 02, 2014, 11:01 PM »

Is there a way to batch/global convert the doc from side-by-side pages to straight single ones?

-bit (December 02, 2014, 10:23 PM)

you mentioned Word before?  Have a look at your view - word doesn't use any sort of page arrangement (that I know of) but the 'reading mode' will present that way

or is it 2 pages to a sheet?  if so try looking at columns (use the show all tool...)

418

Found Deals and Discounts / xmas advent calendars...

« on: December 01, 2014, 08:08 PM »

2 sites I came across today offering full versions of software and ebooks for free in the runup to xmas.

changes daily so you need to watch it in case there's something of interest

ebooks - www.packtpub.com/packt/offers/christmas-countdown?utm_source=Sentori&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Create+Dispatch+-+End+Nov+14

software - www.mostiwant.com/blog/xmas-calendar-2014-giveaways

419

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« on: November 24, 2014, 11:38 PM »

as you say it's likely to be highly subjective, especially in a world where gigapixel displays are considered baseline.

It's probably also reasonable to expect that low end tablets are more likely to be a compromise than e-readers because they naturally incorporate greater complexity/functionality...

hmmmmm...

420

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« on: November 24, 2014, 10:58 PM »

granted, but is this significant?  I'd understand if we were talking 640x480, but 1200 x 800 is comparable to my work laptop (1366x780) and I can't say I have any real issues (though I'm getting pretty blind in my old age)

Not arguing with you here, I've struggled with the e-book concept for a while now so I'm interested in the outcome

421

Living Room / Re: 2014-2015: Best tablet specs for ebook reading

« on: November 24, 2014, 10:04 PM »

is the low resolution an issue for a book?

for text (and probably line drawings and illustrations) I wouldn't have thought it was that big a deal

422

Living Room / Re: Still weird: The mouse is more accurate than a finger

« on: November 19, 2014, 04:05 PM »

not to forget that the mouse is 'controlled' so you can amplify or mute the commands, change speeds and/or resolutions etc

try doing that with your finger

423

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: October 22, 2014, 09:11 PM »

You want me to build a site about epilepsy, too? 

-app103 (October 22, 2014, 08:49 PM)

no, that's inducing epilepsy!!

424

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: October 22, 2014, 08:05 PM »

what about the epileptics???? ????????????? ? ? ?? ???????? ? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?    ?  ??  ?   ?? ? ? ? ??  ?? ? ?  ?????????    ?           ? ?? ? ????? ?????????????    ? ? ??? ? ??? ??

425

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« on: October 14, 2014, 06:10 AM »

-Renegade (October 14, 2014, 03:48 AM)

nice one!!